Remote Hands, answered

Remote Hands is on-site technical work carried out on your behalf by a technician at the facility where your equipment lives. You keep managing the infrastructure remotely; we do the part that requires someone physically present, such as installing hardware, swapping a failed component, moving a cable or reading what a device is actually showing.

The terms are used interchangeably across the industry. Where a distinction is drawn, Remote Hands usually means simple physical tasks such as power cycling or reseating a cable, while Smart Hands means work needing more technical judgement, such as installing equipment, replacing components or assisting with diagnostics. We cover both, and we scope each request individually rather than sorting it into a tier.

Where the equipment is, what needs to be done, and who can authorise access at the facility. Make, model and rack position help when the work involves specific hardware. Anything you cannot confirm up front we clarify with you before the technician goes, rather than improvising on your equipment.

A written summary of what was done, and photographs where they are useful: the state of the rack, a serial number, a port before and after. If you need a particular format of record, say so when you submit the request and we will capture it that way.

Rack and stack, including rail kits, mounting to your elevation, A and B power and initial cabling. Hardware replacement: drives, power supplies, fans, memory, CPUs, NICs, HBAs and optics, with the failed part staged for RMA return. Server deployment through to first boot and reachable out-of-band management. Network installation, structured copper and fiber cabling, patch panel termination and labelling. Physical troubleshooting, equipment inspection, inventory audits, vendor escort, and shipping and receiving. What is permitted at any given site depends on the rules of that facility and the access you hold there.

We handle the physical layer: power state, link and LED status, reseating optics and cables, swap testing, and reporting console output back to your engineers. Logical configuration stays with your team. We will apply a configuration you supply and confirm it took effect, but we do not make design decisions about your network, because that responsibility belongs with the people who own it.

We accept emergency requests for urgent physical intervention. Availability is confirmed with you directly at the time of the request rather than promised in advance. Emergency work, meaning an active incident with less than two hours notice, falls in the same $180 to $250 per hour band as off-peak work, excluding HST. Where it lands depends on the hour and the notice you can give, and we confirm the exact rate before anything is scheduled.

Yes, and the monthly packages exist for exactly this. They suit routine physical checks, scheduled maintenance windows and ongoing work for teams that manage Toronto infrastructure from elsewhere. It also means there is someone who already knows your setup, rather than starting cold each time something happens.

Yes. Alongside Remote Hands we design and install building networks: structured cabling, switching, Wi-Fi, PoE, VLANs and internet handoff, documented and handed over so they stay maintainable. That work is quoted per project after a site visit rather than billed at the Remote Hands hourly rates.

Serving Toronto and the GTA, with Ontario coverage available based on location and scheduling. We attend any data center in Toronto and the GTA, because access is granted by you as the customer of that facility rather than held by us, normally by adding our technician to your access list. The sites we work in most often are 151 Front Street West, Equinix TR1 and TR2, Cologix TOR1 and TOR2, and Coloware YTZ1. For anywhere else, tell us the address and we will confirm before you commit to anything.

Yes. A large part of Remote Hands work is done for teams that manage Toronto infrastructure from another country. Requests, scoping and reporting are handled in writing, so nothing depends on both parties being awake at once and you do not need anyone in the same time zone as the equipment.

It depends on the location, the time of day and current scheduling. Standard scheduled work requires 24 hours notice. For anything urgent, submit the request and we will confirm a realistic time with you directly rather than quoting a figure we cannot guarantee.

Time is billed hourly: $90 standard during Mon–Fri 9:00am–5:00pm ET, and $180 to $250 for anything outside that — evenings, overnight, weekends, statutory holidays, and any active incident with less than two hours notice. Monthly packages are cheaper again: 5% off on Starter and 10% off on Standard. All prices exclude HST.

There are two packages. Starter is 5 hours a month at 5% off the standard rate, which is $85.50 an hour; Standard is 10 hours a month at 10% off, which is $81 an hour. Both carry a three month minimum commitment. Hours do not roll over; they are for the month they are billed in. If you consistently need more than your package covers, moving to a larger plan costs less than paying for extra hours. Larger volumes are handled as a custom plan.

Yes. HST applies to services delivered in Ontario. Every price shown on this site excludes HST; it is added on the invoice.